Alejandro Perez likes to do an in-person examination of used automotive repair equipment before it hits auction.
Perez, president of Ball Street Automotive, Inc., in Irvington, NJ, said for his independent repair shop, it’s worth the time and effort because “you’re going to save money on buying equipment” by purchasing through an industrial auction.
Here’s something repairers might not know: You can walk into an auction location and check out machine tools before they hit auction.
“You are able to look at the pictures, and actually physically look at the equipment and see if it's functioning properly,” Perez told Autobody News.
So mechanics can touch, feel, and test the equipment before auction date?
“Correct,” Perez responded.
Harry Byrnes, principal and auctioneer at Riverdale, NJ-based A.J. Willner Auctions told Autobody News his firm’s automotive equipment auctions generally encompass items like tire machines, wheel balancers, air compressors, welders, automotive lifts, alignment systems and small tools.
Perez recently purchased about $76,000 worth of repair tools and appliances from an online A.J. Willner auction of used repair equipment stored in a Philadelphia facility previously occupied by Lincoln Technical Institute. He was the topmost buyer at the auction, but only paid $26,000 for the equipment.
That auction officially listed 363 items.
Among those were:
• AXILINE transmission dynamometer that sold for $550 (new models can cost as much as $49,500, according to RacingJunk.com)
• Hunter Hawkeye fixed alignment machine that sold for $6,500 (listed as high as $27,000 on eBay)
• Coats RC-55 Rim Clamp Tire Changer that sold for $2,600 (listed for $7,395 on All Tire Supply)
However, not everything is apples to apples.
For example, the sold dynamometer didn’t include software or login credentials, requiring the buyer to license the software from AXILINE.
“Some of the equipment does need some work, but there are repairs that you can perform with it,” said Perez, who has been to three industrial auctions in the past year. “So, it's worth it.”
A.J. Willner Auctions saw 246 registered bidders for its Lincoln Tech auction, most of whom represented the automotive field. As far as automotive equipment auctions, the company does a “couple a year,” Byrnes said.
Every now and then, the auction company sells off some brand new tools.
That’s happened at least twice for A.J. Willner in the last year. Six months ago, the firm conducted an auction for Innovative Solutions and Technology, a former Lincoln Park, NJ-based automotive equipment supplier which dissolved amid a partnership dispute. And earlier this month, the auctioneer sold off a truckload of Cornwell Quality Tools.
“This guy had a Cornwell truck, and it was loaded with tools, so he brought us the tools,” Byrnes said.
Smaller tools can go for as low as 40 cents on the dollar, Byrnes said. It’s not a hard-and-fast threshold, but smaller tools usually command a better discount than larger machines that don’t require much handiwork, he said.
“If you have, let's say, a Snap-on pneumatic gun that, new, is $1,000, at auction it could bring $700 because it doesn't require any rigging,” Byrnes said. “The guy can buy it, pick it up, put it in his car, and drive away.”
Machine tools that require deconstruction and/or extensive assembly usually garner lower prices as well. For instance, a lift system that sells for $5,000 retail may go for as low as $2,000 at auction, Byrnes added.
“With a lift system,” Byrnes said, “you have to spend the day there taking it apart, and putting it back together.”
Brian Bradley